Tag: SpaceX
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Orbcomm first in Falcon 9’s return-to-flight launch queue
File photo of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket before launching six Orbcomm satellites in 2014. Credit: SpaceX Going with a philosophy that favors incremental testing of an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 booster, SpaceX officials said Friday that eleven mini-satellites for Orbcomm’s data relay business will fly on the company’s first mission since a launch…
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SpaceX selects ORBCOMM-2 mission for Falcon 9’s Return To Flight
SpaceX has selected the ORBCOMM-2 (OG2) mission for Falcon 9’s Return To Flight. While no specific launch date has been selected, the company is aiming for lift off to take place in around six to eight weeks, likely resulting in an early December mission. ORBCOMM-2’s trip to LEO will allow for the Second Stage to…
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Canaveral and KSC pads: New designs for space access
For the past several years, the historic launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, have undergone sweeping changes as the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program brought a new vision to the spaceport. Those changes have now spread across the lagoon to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where pad modifications are underway for…
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Former astronaut: NASA ‘certainly not dead, but they are lost at the moment’
Former astronaut Ed Lu (right) at the 2015 GeekWire Summit. Former NASA astronaut Ed Lu, who logged more than 206 days in space over his career, said there are a lot of interesting things going on in space exploration right now — they’re just not coming from the organization you would expect. “It [NASA] is…
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Spaceflight buys a whole rocket from SpaceX for small satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off in April, sending cargo to the International Space Station. The payloads included Planetary Resources’ A3R satellite, which was flown under an arrangement with Seattle-based Spaceflight. (Credit: SpaceX) In the first deal of its kind, Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s buying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will be set aside…
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Seattle company buys big rocket for little satellites
Artist’s concept of Spaceflight Industries’ Sherpa multi-payload space tug, set for a debut mission next year. Credit: Spaceflight Industries Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries has purchased a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch in 2017 with a mash-up of satellites in the first such commercial arrangement for a rideshare mission on a U.S. launcher, the company announced…
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First static fire completed on upgraded Falcon 9
SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 booster powered up to full throttle in a brief ignition at the company’s Central Texas test site this week as engineers prepare for the rocket’s return to flight as soon as mid-November with a European communications satellite. The November launch from Cape Canaveral, which will haul up the SES 9 television…
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Full Thrust Falcon 9 stage conducts first static fire at McGregor
The first “Full Thrust” Falcon 9 first stage has begun a test sequence that is involving two static fires on a new test stand at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas. The stage, unofficially assigned to the launch of the SES-9 satellite in November, underwent a short 15 second firing, ahead of a full duration…
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SpaceX conducts additional Falcon 9 improvements ahead of busy schedule
SpaceX engineers are busily processing the Falcon 9 fleet for a salvo of missions that will mark the company’s return from the CRS-7 failure. The replacement of helium bottle support struts – one of which is suspected to have caused the CRS-7 mishap in June – is being conducted alongside additional changes, as SpaceX prepare…
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Falcon 9 rocket to be grounded longer than expected
File photo of a Falcon 9 launch in February 2015. Credit: NASA/KSC The beginning of November will be the earliest SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket can resume launching after a June 28 failure blamed on a deficient structural support brace inside the the vehicle’s second stage, a SpaceX executive said Monday. The next launch will be…